Will Summer Bring a Rebound for the Jersey Shore?

Hurricane Sandy left the New Jersey shore down, but not out. This summer will be the second since the storm devastated beachfront communities there. And according to a report in the New York Times, the season is likely to bring a resurgence of interest in building and rebuilding in New Jersey beach towns (see: "Back to the Jersey Shore," by Ronda Kaysen). "With beaches replenished, boardwalks rebuilt, and stores reopened," writes the Times, "the Jersey Shore is gearing up for a summer busy enough to make last year's anemic one a distant memory."

Some buyers are attracted by properties that have dropped in price after the storm. Others, the Times reports, see homes in areas that didn't flood—protected by better geography or better civil infrastructure—as good investments.

Some second-home vacationers have given up on the shore, where rising insurance rates and tough rebuilding code requirements are adding costs. But others are hanging tough in an effort to preserve a family tradition. Paul Scriffignano told the Times: "I don't know if a storm like this is ever going to happen again, but I have a lot of friends and family here. It's almost like we wanted to band together and say, 'We don't want to give up on this area. Whatever happens, happens.'"